About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2002 Chrysler Sebring:

Sebring

Sebring

25,000 miles

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that while driving, the rear driver side wheel slightly separated from the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent where it was diagnosed the all four ball joints and struts needed to be replaced. In addition, the vehicle was also diagnosed that there was a water pump malfunction and the fuel tank filler neck had corroded with the vehicle. The vehicles driver side rear ball joint and the filler neck were replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 09E056000 (suspension) however the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 25,000.

Sebring 6-cyl

miles

I purchased this vehicle last Dec,2014.. it is a used vehicle though, its in very good condition. I was backing out of my drive way approx. 2 weeks after I bought it & the right side passenger side the suspension, arm & ball joint just fell out.. the day prior to this I heard a definite knock from that wheel base. In fact when I was backing out of the drive, I was on my way to the mechanic. Well, being stranded, I had to call a tow service to haul it in for repair.. they said they could replace it, & the charge for the assembly would cost $112 plus.. having it replaced & repaired. It is now 10 months later & the knocking is back & my concern is that it will fall out when I'm driving causing an awful accident. This is wear I stand now w/ this issue that is recorded under your recall descriptions. Thank you..

Sebring

miles

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible. While driving at approximately 30 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver without warning. In addition, the contact mentioned that smoke fumes appeared under the hood. The contact pulled the vehicle over and had it towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the front ball joint on the control arm assembly fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 10E059000 (suspension). The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Sebring 6-cyl

Automatic transmission

133,000 miles

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. While driving 40 mph, the driver side tie rod fractured and the contact lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The tie rod was replaced. While driving approximately 10 mph, the vehicle hesitated to accelerate. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the screen on the transmission was replaced. The failure recurred, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 133,000. Updated 09/25/15 updated 12/12/2017

Sebring

85,237 miles

On May 17,2010 while driving to college, I noticed a loud whining rough sound, and every time I hit a bump it would sound like something was loose coming from my tires. Before, I could stop to see what the problem was, my steering wheel locked and my car ran off the road when I attempted to regain control my Sebring over corrected and entered a counterclockwise spin. I crossed 5 busy lanes before striking a ditch. My car stopped opposite direction of oncoming traffic!!! July of 2013 I had my lower control arms, and ball joints replaced. And again in February 14,2014 I had to take my car to the shop again for lower ball joint disconnect and replace lower control arms. And again this year February 24, 2015 for the exact same thing; replacement of lower control arms and lower ball joint. This car is very hazard I was blessed there were no injuries in 2010 when I had my accident! every time; I drive this car I am so frantic of knowing around the time I am going to hear that sound of something rattling and sounding like loose bolts coming from the tire. My 15 year old daughter this year, made the remark;" mama I hear that rattling sound again!" please someone, somewhere; do something about the costly repairs on the Chrysler Sebring 2002 cars. The economy is not cheap to live in, especially when you are fixing the same repairs year after year on the only vehicle you have. And yes, I do have all receipts on repairs and accident report. Thank you very much for your time and consideration of helping.

Sebring

miles

I drove into a gas station and as I pulled in the tire sounded as if it was flat I checked it and it looked fine.I tried to drive of and the front drivers side wheel did not move.I removed the tire in the parking lot to try and find out what was wrong, I couldn't see any visual issues. As I backed out to try and drive the car the balljoint came out. I had to pay to get my car towed from New Jersey back to my town in NY for $110 and then on top of that had to pay to get towed again to a mechanic and with the repair fees ended up spending $500 for repairs. Also my oil light comes on when the car is in idle. Even came on as soon after I got an oil change.

Sebring 6-cyl

miles

I knew about an active recall on control arms for this make/model car, yet when I called the dealership they claimed my VIN was not associated with any recalls. Soon after, my car started to make noise and the control arm/ball joint failed causing damage to my car while driving and almost causing accident.

Sebring

107,000 miles

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the rear passenger side wheel became fractured and folded under the vehicle. Also, the contact mentioned that moments later the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the technician diagnosed that the upper control arm needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The failure recurred on the rear driver's side wheel. The failure mileage was 107,000 and the current mileage was 112,000.

Sebring

102,000 miles

Coming to a stop and turning right. Noise and wheel just fell flat on roadway. Lower ball joint disconnedted and made steering impossible and car uncontrollable. After repair about 6 months later the sam wheel top ball joint disconnected and nearly resulted in a accident on a busy street. The mechanic who repaired also checked the driver side ball joints and I was told they were within specs. In may of 2014 while driving around 50 miles an hour the bottom balljoint on the driver side disengaged and the steering was lost and the tire fell flat and nearly cause a head on crash. I have had many cars and diven for years and this has nevr happened in my life. There should be a recall on these vehicles asap. Some research indicates that the casting on the ball joint ring were heat treated improperly and Chrysler it aware that this could have and result in th whell separation from the control arm leading to steering lost to the vehile and danger to the occupants..

Sebring 4-cyl

106,559 miles

My front end control arm and ball joint collapsed, causing other parts to be damaged. Ever since this has happen my Chrysler has never been the same. My insurance company did try and fix the problem, but to my dismay nothing has been corrected. I am now being told that my car the Chrysler Sebring always have major front end suspension issues. Since this is the case, I believe Chrysler should correct the problems on these makes and model. I would like to feel safe in my car, however I do not. I have been spending money frivolous to figure out the problem. I hope that Chrysler can correct this issue immediately on my car. Please help.

Sebring

70,000 miles

My wife was pulling out of parking lot of store, right front ball joint socket disconnected causing damage to front end of car. Though this seems to be an issue for this make/model of car, my VIN was never recalled.

Sebring 6-cyl

112,085 miles

On the way home from work the left front ball joint socket separated. I was going 50 mph. On a straight road, no pot holes or bumps. There was a loud bang, front end dropped down, left front tire flipped sideways and there I was stuck on the side of the road. I have 35 years in the collision industry and do not understand how this happens, other than a poor part from the start. These parts should never separate. I checked for recalls and there are none on my car. But I would think there should be. I have insurance that will pay for repairs other than the ball joint. Going to have the other side replaced also. This happened at 5pm on a busy road, there was lots of traffic. I was pleased that nobody creamed me while I tried to gain control of car and man handle it off the road. I see many of the same complaints on here. This could have been a lot worse.

Sebring 6-cyl

160,000 miles

The contact owns a 2002 Chrysler Sebring. The contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the left front lower ball joint failed, causing the wheel to cave inward. The vehicle was towed to the contacts home and was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

Sebring

Sebring 6-cyl

142,349 miles

On February 10,2012 I just got off the express way and came to a complete stop at a traffic light when suddenly I heard a loud popping sound up front. I got out to look and found that my wheel on the passenger side was turned all the way to the right. After I had it towed to the shop the mechanic informed me that the control arm broke. I had to pay $450 to get it replaced.

Sebring 6-cyl

104,244 miles

This complaint follows others that own the sebring conv. And the sludge buildup, .I also do reg. Maint. On the vehicle and now have an engine that has seized & failed in the middle of the highway almost causing a pileup. I have researched this vehicle and have found numerous complaints on this problem, not only on this site but several others, I also understand that a class action suit is being brought against Chrysler on the 2.7ltr engine for this fact. The oil light kept flickering took it in to have it checked out and could not find anything wrong, levels correct, it would go out for a while and then boom. This would go on like every 3 months or so since I have owned this car.never again Chrysler. Will it take a death for you to order a recall on these engines"?"

Sebring 6-cyl

155,000 miles

On May 22, 2011, I was driving my 2002 Chrysler Sebring convertible onto a main road here in Florida and all of the sudden there was a huge thud, my car crashed to the ground, and it jolted forward after forcing a stop. I got out of the car and the body of my front passenger side had fallen on top of my tire. The police arrived and said that it was my control arm. I spent over $150 getting it towed numerous places and I was finally told that it was my front control arm and lower ball joint. They told me it was going to be $1500 to repair because my drivers side control arm and lower ball joint look like they are going to do the same thing. I went to the vehicle center section on my car insurance website and to my surprise there are three vehicle recalls for my year and model. I did not think that I was going to find anything, but there is a recall for the exact thing that happened to my car. I called the manufacturer and they said that my VIN does not match for any recalls. This is a very dangerous situation. The exact thing that is being recalled happened to me, but it doesn't seem to matter. Shouldn't my safety be number one? the police and towing company, as well as my parents, said that I am lucky to be alive. If I would have been on the highway that I was headed to and the control arm and ball joint would have broken/fallen off, I could have been seriously injured or worse. There needs to be justification for them to deny my claim. Just because it doesn't fall under their recall list doesn't mean it shouldn't. these types of parts are made to last in all other cars. My car is not that old, and this didn't just happen out of the blue. I think that my car should be checked out for the recall, otherwise the other one is going to do the same thing, and next time I might not be so lucky.

Sebring

80,000 miles

My 2002 convertible Chrysler sebring limited edition left steering axle ball joint fell out of place while I was driving at about 25 mile per hour. The vehicle has mileage of 80,000. I made a complaint to Chrysler corporation after I found that there is a recall since October 2009 on the same part that failed and the same make and model. I was told by Chrysler that my VIN was not on the list of cars recalled. I have already paid for the repair and seeking reimbursement from Chrysler corporation.